Just another heat pump launch?

The life of the heat pump hobo is a varied one. I spend weeks on end couped up at home writing manuals and reports and then out of the hat I get invited to go and see some new kit being launched. 

A couple of weeks ago I went down to Exeter to see the launch of the new Haier range of heat pumps by the lovely team of Andy Hooper and Bethany Foster at Unitherm UK

This was not one of those come and see a unit in the warehouse or out in a cold car park events. Oh no. Firstly, we were all taken to see a rugby match between Exeter and Harlequins, rugby is not my game but it was a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed the 2 pinters they let you drink during the game, very civilised.

After the Rugby we retired to out hotels for a few more beers and some dinner ready for the main event the next morning.

The launch was held in the conference suite at Exeter's rugby ground, we were treated to an Intro by Casper from Unitherm highlighting all the services they offer.

Next up was Richard Sherlock The European Product leader for heat pumps for Haier, he briefly introduced us to Haier , I had no idea how big a firm they are, they own Hotpoint and Hoover among many others.

But more interesting to me was when he talked to us about the insides of the machine, why it was designed the way it was, to operate in ambient of +6C not -15C, perfect for the Northern European climate. He showed us how they made every unit up to 14kW under 0.6m^3, (no planning permission), how they achieve super low turn downs of 20-25%. (no cycling and no buffers or volumiser).

I learnt more about the inside of heat pumps and what the future for this technology could be in his one hour presentation than I have in the last 3 years on linked in. It was a master class. With this level of support at design stage it promised to be quite the unit and some very interesting solutions to house heating.

 Then the unit was unveiled,

Its a lovely simple to install unit:

It has useable lifting handles in the right place,

They labelled the pipes in and out so anyone can work out how to tube it up,

The wiring is idiot proof, all the high voltage stuff is together well away from the low Voltage stuff. There is a 2 core between the indoor and outdoor unit (wiring centre)

They have labelled the terminals with what they actually do.

 I am very impressed. This is a unit that’s been thought through by engineers to make it simple and easy to instal.

I love a heat pump launch, its always a pleasure to be invited along to an event. Its even better if you get to speak to the team who actually got involved in the design and have met the developers. I think you are going to see a fair bit of this unit.

 Thank you Andy and Beth for inviting me. And thank you Richard for the masterclass.